Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Indonesia preparing for Daesh returnees

Indonesian security
officials say they are conducting a softly-softly approach to citizens
returning from fighting for Daesh in Syria, as they prepare for a wave of
fighters fleeing military operations to retake the northern Iraqi city of
Mosul.

Coordinating Minister Wiranto said about 53 Indonesians
radicalized by Daesh had so far returned.

"We
did a soft or humane approach, in which we urged them back to a normal
life," detik.com quoted him as saying in his office.

Wiranto,
however, underlined that although he believes that de-radicalization through
such an approach can work, the government also has more persuasive ways to
convince Daesh supporters to lose the radical mindset.

"We
will delete [such doctrines], or brainwash anything that has been done to them
by ISIS [Daesh] during their Syrian venture," he stated.

"But
to those categorized as hard [radicalized] figures, we will give special
treatment," he added without elaborating.

According
to national police data, around 500 Indonesians have joined Daesh in Syria,
although the true number could be much higher as many are suspected of arriving
in the country undetected.

On
Wednesday, the head of the country's National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT)
said that the government is wary of the return of many Iraq-based fighters
following an ongoing operation to retake the country's second-largest city of
Mosul from Daesh.

"The
most feared factor in ISIS' defeat is the return of hundreds of combatants to
their country of origin," Suhardi Alius was quoted as saying, adding that
there were worries that many had been given orders to take the Daesh battle
home with them.

He
said that Indonesian representatives in various countries in the Middle East
continued to monitor the situation, and anticipate the possibility of an exodus
of Daesh members to Indonesia.

"All
the doors, both official and unofficial, that can be used as access for their
return are being monitored," he underlined.

One
week ago, Iraqi forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, launched a
much-anticipated offensive to retake Mosul, which was overrun by Daesh in
mid-2014.